What is Oregon Veterans Legal Services?

Oregon Veterans Legal Services is a nonprofit organization with a mission to implement the Oregon Veterans Legal Plan:

to help Oregon's Veterans and their Families who struggle with homelessness;

to train and inspire lawyers and law students to better care for our Veterans;

to encourage and assist the use of Veterans Courts to administer justice in appropriate cases for our Veterans here in Oregon;

to advocate for better quality representation for our currently-serving sons and daughters during military justice proceedings throughout the military; and

to advance the interests of all Service Members in obtaining justice.

Oregon Veterans Legal Services is focused on helping our Service Members--past and present. We have implemented a revolutionary method of giving dignity to our Service Members, the Oregon Veterans Legal Plan. The Plan envisions support to all those who serve, whether directly (to Veterans and currently-serving Service Members) or indirectly (to the Families that raise them, elevate them, and ultimately ground them), from the oath of service through the passing of the last Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, and Coast Guardsman.

We advocate for Oregon Veterans and their Families struggling with homelessness, train and inspire lawyers and law students to better serve Veterans, advocate that Oregon's sons and daughter are given representation at Court-Martial that is ethically consistent with rulings of the Oregon Bar Association, and support Veterans Courts throughout Oregon. Together, these efforts represent the Oregon Veterans Legal Plan.

Our Warriors have put everything on the line for us. Let's keep faith with them.

For Veterans:

We partner with Veterans organizations throughout the country to advocate for those who have served. There is saying that we live by every day: No war is over until the last person who has fought in it has passed away. Let us continue to remember the sacrifices our Veterans have made. No one should be left behind with the memories of distant war their only companion. On our watch, no one will be left behind.

We also work with Veterans Courts here in Oregon to support and encourage alternative disposition of criminal cases in Oregon which involve Veterans when those cases can provide more just, more efficient, and more economical resolutions.

For today's Service Members who call Oregon Home:

Know that you are in our thoughts and prayers. As you protect us, so we work to protect you. Oregon Veterans Legal Services ensures that the legal representation you receive under the Uniform code of Military Justice is free from divided loyalties or conflicts of interest. The Oregon State Bar has already expressed its concern to the Department of Defense about assigning legal representation by the military services whose first loyalty is to their military services. Oregon was the first state to point out the obvious: having the prosecutors and defense counsel and judges report to the same boss creates at least the appearance of ethical conflict. We continue to fight for your rights to fair treatment under military law because you are our sons and daughters.